GRAFFiTi
by Phriight
Summary: Ichigo's with the Vaizards, Orihime and Rukia are in Seireitei. And Tatsuki's feeling useless. She joins an origzanization of humans who can fight hollows known only as GRAFFiTi. IchigoxTatsuki, TatsukixMizuiro. More inside.
1. Sleeping on Street Corners

(Author's Notes: Ohkay, so Tatsuki's kind of fun to write about. Basically, there's so much IchiRuki and HitsuHina floating around that I couldn't help myself. It won't all be depressing like this, I promise, okay? There'll be humor as well as angst and action and whanot. Sound good? Soyeah.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any part of Bleach, Tatsuki, et cetera.)

Rain dripped from the roof. It was drizzling, the late summer air hot and wet, with flashes of lightning glittering through the sky. She was leaning the doorframe, watching the storm stir. The grey light lit up water streaming down her hair, dripping and dancing into her eyes.

She wasn't depressed. She wouldn't let herself be. Looking out over the soaked pavement, she was still, a rock in the dismal sky tears.

She wasn't angry. Why should she be?

Tatsuki was lonely.

Ever since Ichigo had disappeared, she'd been confused. It hadn't bothered her too much for a while. But suddenly she was abandoned. Rukia, Orihime, Ichigo – they'd gone somewhere and she couldn't bring them back. And to make matters worse, he was a Shinigami.

A soul reaper.

A death god.

She hardly knew what it meant. It was only those black robes; how he was gone all the time. Most of it she'd guessed. And by the way he'd reacted, Tatsuki had been right. Why wouldn't he tell her? Why was she suddenly outside his trust? She'd been his best friend for so long, since almost before his mother died. What had she done?

Her shoulder slipped a little lower down the slick wall, eyes downcast. All she wanted was his thoughts, the truth, and for her efforts she had received nothing but silence. For punching him, nothing but a cool goodbye. Then Rukia and Orihime disappeared off the face of the earth, and Tatsuki was totally isolated.

She sighed and stood straight. Her feet moved to carry her home; her mind became blissfully quiet. The things that had happened to her were muted in the monochrome, raining world. And as she meandered down the empty street, becoming steadily more drenched, she listened for the keen scream she knew would come. Huge monsters, hollows, with holes in their chests and masks on their faces. Then they'd go quiet as some blade was buried in their skulls. Her understanding was minimal.

It didn't matter.

There was nothing much she could do.

She stopped and sat on the street curb, feet in the gutter, slumped over with her head low. It was this feeling of helplessly, knowing half of the truth and having no way to learn the rest. Her eyes closed as the sounds of the storm built around her. Exhaustion deadened her limbs as she felt herself drifting into a restless sleep. Somewhere she wondered why she couldn't get up and keep walking, but she left the thought behind.

So she simply slept, left on the corner, alone.

Alone.


	2. The Mutt

DISCLAIMER: Bleach? Right. Not mine. xD

Chapter Two: The Mutt

Tatsuki jerked herself awake, mentally kicking herself. How do you fall asleep practically in the gutter when it's pouring rain? She growled low in her throat and wondered for a second what time it was. It was only drizzling now. The sun was starting to shine timidly through the clouds, surprisingly low-down. She was soaked through to the core. Oddly enough, it felt good to be drenched. The water running down her back was cold, but it was familiar, something she desperately needed in this lonely world.

She felt eyes burning into her skin; unafraid, she stood up and turned sharply. Attempting to hide behind an unlit lamppost was Keigo, grinning with his usual combination of mischief and stupidity. Seriously, he had to know he couldn't keep himself unseen behind a /lamppost/.

Didn't anyone else ever watch Saturday morning cartoons?

Tatsuki crossed the empty street, watching Keigo's eyes go wide. She'd almost reached him when he jumped up and started yelling into her face, shattering the calm silence of the deserted road, causing her to swiftly and suddenly punch him. He fell to the wet ground dramatically, whimpering. Oddly enough, she noticed he wasn't all that wet.

She was very relieved to learn that the boy had not been watching her sleep for long.

"Tatsuki! What was that for?"

The girl rolled her eyes, speaking quietly in a noble effort to prevent the headache she usually associated with prolonged time dealing with Keigo. She resisted the urge to punch him again.

"You can't conceal yourself behind a lamppost, you idiot, and don't shout so loud for no good reason."

He rolled over and curled into a ball. Tatsuki was almost completely sure that he wasn't still in pain. Keigo liked to exaggerate. He continued to blubber on the ground, shrinking away from her glare. With one foot she rolled him over, no longer angry, calm but dangerous. Curiosity got the best of her.

"Why are you out here, anyway? This is the middle of nowhere."

"They told me to come get you. Nobody really wants to sleep on wet sidewalks, you know."

A dog shuffling down the streets turned to look up, seeming to radiate defiance, then picked up its pace again, meandering away from the pair. Tatsuki watched it for lack of better places to turn her eyes. Without meaning to she lifted her foot from Keigo's chest, wondering for a second if she should follow the mutt. It wasn't like he was preferred company, anyway.

She realized her mistake a few seconds later as the boy leaped at her leg, grabbing it full around with both arms while smiling stupidly up at her. It was pathetic, really, how much he needed before he got the message. And see as he wasn't exactly new to the girl's ways, the facts should be more than obvious. Tatsuki's leg slammed him into the ground repeatedly until he let go. He resumed his curled position, feebly clutching at the air.

What a baby.

Tatsuki shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling the cold change in their depths, and started to walk off toward the end of the street. She hadn't moved more than two paces when Keigo made a little noise and inched forward. Expectantly, she turned back to him, eyebrows raised. He spoke first.

"…Wait–"

"Do you see me going anywhere?"

"Don't you want to know who sent me?"

Tatsuki laughed. What did he think this was, the next Mafia movie? "They" probably referred to her parents, or Chizuru, or maybe even Keigo's company of imaginary friends whom he invited to his tea parties. The way you imagined it wasn't the way it ever happened.

"They" were probably pretty unimportant.

"Hey, wait, where're you going?"

She'd begun to walk away again. At this rate she'd never get anywhere. She sighed and looked over her shoulder. He was sprawled across the pavement, one hand stretched out after her, apparently having decided to play the victim. Tatsuki couldn't imagine a more pathetic sight.

Simply because as melodramatics go, Keigo was pretty much rock bottom.

"I'm gonna go follow that dog. Don't come."

As Tatsuki moved, the dog lifted its head again, this time looking skeptical, but kept its wayward passage moving forward. She traced behind it, her footsteps echoing lightly against the much softer ones of the thin animal, mind wandering. Keigo's whining fell out of her consciousness as she walked. Motion always seemed to calm her, and as she came closer to the dog her thoughts were less confused.

It hadn't stopped going down the street, but she could see its shoulders tense. It knew she was following it. In a low voice, she called out to it, lowering her head a littler.

"Hey, mutt, c'mere."

(Author's Note - Hey again. This is, like, twice the length of the first chapter, so I'm sorry if short is sweet to you guys. xD Anyway, I'm having fun with this, simply because I have absolutely /no/ chapter outline, and I'm just kind of winging it as I go along. And this will be the last update for a while, since I'm going to be stranded in the middle of nowhere for two weeks, and computer access is a definite no. Reviews make me happy.

And that mutt is important.)


	3. My Name is Niiro

3: My Name is Niiro

The dog backed up a little, ears pricked, still damp from the rain. Now that she was closer Tatsuki could see the dog's white fur, marked by blue-grey and ringed by dark red-brown by its paws, mouth, tail, and chest. Nothing but a street cur, the dog carried itself – herself, apparently – proudly, head held high, the picture of arrogance. Crouching lower, Tatsuki offered her hand. The dog pointedly ignored it.

Trying again, she tapped her hand once on the concrete, lightly, not sure what she meant by it. This time her quarry turned and stared at her. Clear, bright eyes flashed and caught Tatsuki's. It was a challenge. Grey and blue clashed over a few feet of distance. The human said nothing. The dog did not move. In the back of her mind, Tatsuki wondered how far she'd fallen to be arguing with a dog, but the thought lost out to the staring contest. Finally, with a tiny, human snort, the dog broke the gaze, moving her eyes to the still street instead.

Pride swelled in Tatsuki's chest. She didn't move her hand, just watched the dog again, forgetting for a while her life and its problems.

Although they didn't seem to want to leave her alone.

Suddenly the dog's ears pricked, and her tail wagged slightly. The cool blue gaze was fixed on something just over Tatsuki's right shoulder, and as she turned to look, Mizuiro cocked his head a little.

"Tatsuki-chan? What're you doing?"

Hastily, she stood up and stretched, trying not to think about what she'd been doing. After all, it wasn't exactly normal.

"I was talking – no, just watching this dog."

Mizuiro shot her a sideways look. She met it levelly, and he looked away, saying nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, Tatsuki thought she'd seen him blush. (A/N LOLFLUFF.)

"That's Niiro, there."

He pointed at the dog, who had been still. Now her tail wagged on the ground and her manner softened. She'd recognized a master in Mizuiro.

Tatsuki glanced at the still-dark sky nervously, wondering if she should say something.

"I'm gonna go. It's gonna rain again."

She decided to speak, earning a smile and a nod from the boy. From the distance a whimpering yell rang out. Tatsuki grinned a little and jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"'Asano-san' needs you."

Mizuiro grinned back and started to walk away, whistling to Niiro. The dog didn't move. Sitting adamant beside Tatsuki, she was deaf to his call, proudly proving where she'd chosen to be. He turned and came back, beckoning instead. Still he was haughtily dismissed. In a low voice, Tatsuki urged the mutt along. No luck. Niiro wasn't going anywhere.

Reality came smashing back into her head, making it throb with the thought of facing it again. Tatsuki wondered idly if the dog had to deal with this kind of thing. Probably not. On account of dogs had four legs and no opposable thumbs. The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, and the only thing that could pass through the block was the only thing she said.

"Do you miss him too?"

A shadow of confusion slipped over Mizuiro's face. It left as quickly as it had come. Crestfallen, he nodded, eyes unfocused. Tatsuki did not press him. Niiro growled under her breath and stood, glaring at the girl who'd caused the tension with inhuman eyes full of human understanding. Tatsuki shot back a look, but faltered, and dipped her head. Watching Mizuiro, she noticed his shoulders tense. Did he want to say something, or what?

"Come back here tomorrow, okay?"

It sounded innocent as he said it. Tatsuki looked back at him, startled, but he'd already relaxed. Casually, he closed his eyes and laughed as another whine became the words "Help me."

"I have to go pick Asano-san off the street. 'Bye, Tatsuki-chan."

He strode off, this time without calling Niiro, who picked up her feet and willingly trotted after him. Tatsuki, still thinking hard, went in the opposite direction, considering what had happened and what she'd learn about dogs. It was only after she was far out of Mizuiro's earshot that she realized what he'd probably been thinking.

_Tomorrow/alone/?_

"Aw, shit."

((A/N: Hey guys. xD Sorry I'm so slow to update. School wants my soul, and so I might take a while to get things up here. Lucky for you I have the next three chapters or so outlined, which translates into new chapters fast. And then I get to go sit down and plan more. With a pen and paper. What a novel idea. I outline stories with pens. xDDD

Anyway, I get sidetracked so fast that what should have taken me an hour, give or take thirty minutes, to do takes me a total of three and a half. I can't go read Kingdom Hearts comics in the middle of writing Bleach fanfictions. Bad idea.

Also, expect something GinKira shortly. It's my friend's birthday (zabuzakakashi. and I'm feeding her fic goodies. Not to mention it is also Ichimaru's birthday around this time, soyeahjointpresentswhoohoo.

REVIEW. REVIEW AND REVIEW AND THEN GRAB A JUICEBOX. AND THEN REVIEW MORE. You know I'd love you and I'd go faster if I had motivation, yeah? Tell me anything you wanna see, or stuff you liked, or where I used a cliché, or the fact that you noticed that I didn't actually edit much. You guys are awesome like that. –Phriight

P.S. Long note, huh? xDDD))


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